Sofia Coppola made history today by becoming the second ever woman to win the Best Director prize at Cannes for her remake of 1971 film, The Beguiled.

Before Coppola, the last woman to win Best Director was Soviet filmmaker Yuliya Solntseva in 1961 for The Chronicle of Flaming Years, and only one woman has ever won the Palme d'Or, the highest prize at Cannes – Jane Campion in 1993 for The Piano.

Coppola, who has been in the industry since she was a child, is known for directing films including The Virgin Suicides, (1999), Marie Antoinette (2006), Somewhere (2010) and The Bling Ring (2013).

In her updated version of The Beguiled, Kirsten Dunst, Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning and Colin Farrell star. 

The movie was adapted from a book called A Painted Devil and tells the story of a wounded soldier who gets lost in enemy territory during the American Civil War and is discovered by a young woman who brings him back to the Miss Martha Farnsworth Seminary for Young Ladies.

The female-focused film then descends into a swirling mess of deceit, sexual tension and jealousy as the soldier's influence on the women becomes clear.

The original version of The Beguiled starred Clint Eastwood and Geraldine Page, and has become seen as controversial due to a kiss between Eastwood and the then 12-year-old actress Pamelyn Ferdin.

The film isn't out until late June, but the trailer suggests a blood-soaked, pie-poisoned remake. 

The Beguiled is out in cinemas June 23